Winter Song
by I Need a Thesaurus
Summary: Merida didn't know where to go. Everything around here was crashing down and there was only one place she knew where to go.
1. Chapter 1

For all the regrettable things Merida had done in her life this one just took the top spot right of the ball park.

It wasn't just an act that should be forgotten it should be something to have never happened in the first place. It was stupid, preposterous and most of all desperate.

Yes she was now sober enough to realize that what she had done was an act of desperation. It wasn't just the alcohol that drove her to do it, she wanted to prove it upon herself that she was a grown woman capable of making her own decisions may it be stupid or not.

And damn this was definitely a stupid one.

Now exactly what was this thing our dear Scot found herself tangled into that it made her have a mini existential crisis?

She had just slept with Kristoff Pavle.

Yes it was that Kristoff. The man who grew up raising reindeers in who knows what part of Europe, the man whom her roommate and best friend Anna couldn't stop ranting about.

And she had a boyfriend for crying out loud. She felt like one of those chambermaid bed warmers in the shows her mother watches.

To add insult to injury she not only had sex with him, she just happened to lose her virginity to said man. And boy was it not a good way either, she could tell she wouldn't be able to run as quick as she wanted to and it'll take a few days to actually recover from this painful ordeal.

She was currently in his bed, well she assumed it was his heck she wasn't even sure if she was in a bed. After mentally scolding herself she finally opened her eyes, only to close them again because of the bright light blinding her.

"Ergh . . . " she covered her face with her hands "You had to take on the keg did ya?" she again scolded herself. She was slightly thankful that the person sleeping beside her was snoring so loudly that he wouldn't be able to hear her monologues.

"Ok" she tried as fast as she could to get out of the bed find her clothes and get out of there as fast as she could. She was quite successful in doing so and making a mad dash for her dorm and room quickly collapsing on her bed as soon as she got there.

By the time she had woken up again it was already noon and not only was her head giving her one heck of a headache but her throat was so dry and she was really really hungry.

Still with her face against the mattress she tried to locate her phone underneath the discarded pile of things on the floor, after locating the device she pressed number 3 on her speed-dial.

There were a few rings before . . .

"Oh Merida I see you're finally up" came the 'I-told-you-so' tone of Tiana.

The red head only grunted a reply.

"Well don't worry I'm already coming up there, Anna told me you just came crashing into your bed this morning and she was pretty scared of moving you" Tiana explained "Well I'm almost there so wait a moment"

After the Louisianan hung up Merida flung her phone to wherever in the room and cursed herself once again. Why the heck did she do that? How did she end up to the point of losing her virginity to some Scandinavian lumberjack?

Well sure now that she was a senior finishing requirements and thesis making was taxing, she has her future to think about, college loans to start paying and her mother's lectures to prepare for. Sure it was stressful but she was pretty capable of handling stress especially after dealing with everything she's gone through, adding the current event to the list of "things I must get over from".

She lifted her head from the mattress and saw a something on the bedside table. It was a photograph of her Al during a Christmas party last year, for once she had actually suck up to Rapunzel and straightened her hair for the occasion. She had done it just because he got curious on how she looked like and according to him she was quite a beauty.

Lies. That's what they were. She stood up from grabbed the frame and glared at the Indian in the picture "I should have burned you" she then opened her window and threw the picture.

She collapsed on the chair nearby as guilt dawned upon her. Kristoff wouldn't have went on with the act if she didn't push him to the bedroom and started handling his 'business'. She wouldn't have done that if she didn't drink too much that night. She wouldn't have drunk that much if she didn't see Al doing his own business with some cheerleader. She wouldn't have dated Al if she just told _him_ what she really felt before he graduated. And she wouldn't have been feeling everything else right now if she just didn't fall in love with her very dense senior.

"Oh my lawd, what in the name of Mama Odie happened to you last night?" Tiana asked as she was already inside the room holding a box of muffins in one hand which she almost dropped after seeing the mess Merida was in.

Merida was a complete train wreck. Her hair curly red hair was even more messed up than usual and actual objects actually got tangled up in the mess. Her eyes were black from smudged eye-liner and eye bags and her pants and shirt were almost falling off of her.

"I got a couple of drinks" Merida gave a tired smile, hoping the girl will bite and cut her some slack.

Tiana did a look "You go to shower now, it's like you came back from a crack house or something"

"Maybe I did" Merida contemplated.

Tiana placed the box of muffins on the bedside table before pulling the Scot by her collar and dragging her to the bathroom "Now take a bath, will you?" she placed her hands on her hips "Or do you want me to take off your clothes?"

"How 'bout bathing me?" Merida yawned.

"Are you sure about that?" Tiana questioned as she tapped her foot "I just might."

The red head groaned "I can handle myself" she pushed her friend off the bathroom locked the door and quickly tried washing herself.

But while washing a certain area she couldn't help but wince remembering the events that occurred last night.

After taking the shower she threw in jeans a white t-shirt and a long polo shirt she had no idea where she got from.

Tiana was seated on the single chair in the room cross-legged "Ok you better tell me what happened to you last night, I don't want no smart-ass answers and I don't want no vague ones either so you might as well go straight to the point to save us from whatever drama it is"

Merida was about to open her mouth when Tiana lifted her finger "Also speak in English, one that I can understand and not some Northern whatnot"

The red head sighed and sat on her bed and remained silent for a while.

"I'm waiting" Tiana said.

"I'm trying to remember what happened" Merida muttered as she took a muffin from the box "Ok now I remember . . ."

Before she could say anything a certain Scandinavian entered the room her face puffy red with tears in her eyes. She slammed the door which shocked the other girls but what really surprised them was when Anna quickly went for Merida and slapped her face.

This made Tiana jump up from her seat "What on earth -"

"YOU TRAITOR!" Anna pointed at he red head "I THOUGHT YOU WERE MY BEST FRIEND!" she was about to do another blow but Tiana managed to grab her hand just in time.

"Anna calm down" Tiana told the girl heavily "What is going on between the two of you?"

Anna quickly reclaimed her own hand "'Between the two of us?'" She quoted in spiteful tone, she glared at Merida "WHY DON'T YOU ASK HER!"

"You're not making any sense right now" the Louisianan was raising her hands in confusion "What the heck happened last night?"

Merida remained silent, her head still sunk low from the blow.

Anna on the other hand didn't contain her anger "SHE SLEPT WITH KRISTOFF!"

It took a moment for this information to register to Tiana "SHE DID WHAT?"

Merida was getting tired of all this screaming, she was tired of everything really she pretty much had enough of it. She just stood up making the other girls look at her before she went over to the door.

Anna and Tiana just stared at her before Anna spoke again "So you're just gonna run away?"

The Scot paused before holding the doorknob and opening the door.

"That's just great you know" Anna continued her rant "Like ok I guess I'm overreacting a bit but . . . Merida you knew I liked him, you knew I was practically this close to ask him out and you just . . . go . . . hanky-panky!"

"Anna it's just a crush" the Scot finally spoke.

"'Just a crush'?" the strawberry blond pushed her roommate "'JUST A CRUSH'? Merida I knew him longer than you did, I'm actually friends with him- we had a . . ."

"DO YOU THINK THAT MATTERS NOW!" Merida slammed the door shut "DO YOU THINK WHATEVER YOU SAY NOW MATTERS ANYMORE?!"

Tiana tried to be the voice of reason "Ok would everyone just calm . . ."

"DOESN'T MATTER?!" Anna held her chest "HOW ABOUT FRIENDSHIP? YOU TECHNICALLY BETRAYED ME!"

"I didn't technically betray you" Merida opened the door again "I bloody did" and with that she slammed the door close behind her.

Tiana collapsed in the chair and pinched the bridge of her nose, muttering. "This isn't on my schedule today."

Anna just stared at her friend and the discarded muffins that fell on the floor.

/

After running off from her dorm, Merida just started wandering off in the campus thinking of particularly nothing. All she knew was that she felt really pissed at the moment and if anyone would try to approach her, if anyone would even dare to, things would look very dirty. Just a few minutes ago Mowgli choked on his drink, ran and made sure he was at least 50 feet away from the Scot.

She then found herself in the soccer field with some of the team members practicing. She ignored the stares she was receiving from some of the players and continued walking not minding where the heck she was going, even if that involved walking across the field.

But that didn't mean it went unnoticed by coach Phil Agyris, as the short stout man ran towards the Scot waving a bottle of Gatorade. "You little tartar sauce!" the man stood in front of her "Can't you see we're practicing here?"

Merida just looked down at the man "Who are you?" she asked. "Pretty short for soccer player aren't ya?"

"Oh oh . . ." Keone Jameson whispered to his teammate "She just called him short"

Pierre Charming gulped "This ain't good"

Keone tried to sedate his coach "Umm . . . coach . . ."

"OK LISTEN HERE BRAVEHEART!" Phil threw his bottle on the ground "YOU DON'T JUST WALK AROUND IN HERE IN THE MIDDLE OF TRAINING FOR THE REGIONALS! LIKE WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL!"

"BRAVEHEART?!" Merida twitched "YOU GOT A PROBLEM WITH SCOTS?!"

"WELL I WILL IF YOU DON'T LEAVE THIS PLACE RIGHT NOW!" the man rolled up his sleeves "OR I'M GONNA START DOING WHAT THEY DID TO MACBETH!"

"Coach she's a girl" Keone looked between Merida and the man "Come on you'll be sued again, you're already on probation for spitting at . . ."

"WELL HOW THE HECK ARE WE SUPPOSED TO WIN AGAINST PIXAR IF SHE'S WALKING AROUND IN HERE LIKE SOME LOOSE SPRITE!"

"What the heck is going on in here?" an Arabian woman wearing a green and white cheerleading outfit with her black hair in ponytail came.

Keone was about to open his mouth when the coach spoke "THIS GINGER JUST WALTZED INTO THE FIELD IN THE MIDDLE OF PRACTICE SESSION!"

"Jasmine, now isn't a really good time" Keone tried to be calm for everyone else "So maybe you'd better practice somewhere else"

Jasmine crossed her arms "But we need to use the field, we have preliminaries tomorrow"

Merida looked up from the coach to focus on the girl, didn't Jasmine sound familiar, she then turned her eyes to the said person for a minute.

Her eyeing didn't go unnoticed "Why is she looking at me . . . oh . . . oh"

"What is it Jasmine?" Keone asked.

Merida's eyes widened upon realization of course she knew this girl. The only reason she knew her name was because Al kept moaning her name while they were busy in the closet when Merida caught them.

"It's you" the Scot finally spoke.

"Um . . ." the Arabian took a step back "About what . . . you saw the other day . . ."

At that moment Merida snapped "Ghalla"

/

Aladdin didn't know what to expect when he came to the infirmary after receiving a text from Jasmine to pick her up there. He had only assumed that she had sprained her ankle doing some cheer stunt or something. What he didn't expect to see was not only a black eye on her right eye but Merida with a similar injury on her left.

"Just . . . what the . . ." Al looked from Jasmine to Merida and back "How . . ."

Merida just stood up stared at the man before knocking him out cold with an upper-cut.

/

The following day while waiting in Dean Moghadam's office Aladdin finally spoke.

"Ok I admit we were all at fault" he had a bandage wrapped around his head and was missing two teeth.

Merida was seated on one of the white chairs in the waiting room and remained silent.

Jasmine sighed she was also seated in a chair "I am actually ashamed of what occurred that time between me and Aladdin. I was aware of your relationship with him yet I still committed infidelity with him." She bowed her head "I'm truly sorry"

"Then why did you hit me?" Merida finally asked.

"Well I couldn't just let you hit me like that" Jasmine raised her head "And a part of me thinks you deserved that"

The red head fixed her gaze "I thought you were apologetic"

"Half of me is guilty, half of me is grateful" Jasmine raised her chin "And from what I heard from Al is correct, your relationship was crumbling already"

This made the Scot blush hard "What are you . . ."

"Jasmine" Aladdin sighed "Could you go get a bottle of water for me?"

The Arabian woman gave her one last glare before leaving the room.

The man took a deep breath before speaking "Well what she said was true"

"She said a lot of things" Merida refused to look at him.

"You know what I mean" he sighed "We were gonna break-up anyway"

She clenched her fists "Could you have at least broken up with me before doing that then, could have saved you some decency"

Aladdin seemed a bit hurt "Decency huh? Well at least I was decent enough to actually be in love with you"

Merida turned to face him "Excuse me?"

"You have to admit it" Aladdin stared at her "Were you ever in love with me?"

Her eyes widened "Of course I was in love with you!" she stood up "I practically almost gave everything to you!"

"From what I heard you went all the way with Pavle" he retorted with a snarl.

"Well I assumed we were done!" Merida waved her fist "I was angry and depressed, I took too much booze and he happened to be there"

Aladdin stood up as well "So all you needed was alcohol?!"

"SEX DOESN'T DRIVE A RELATIONSHIP!" Merida stomped her foot.

"THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH SEX!" the guy yelled back, he pointed at her "I wasn't the only one cheating in this relationship!"

Merida was taken aback by that statement "Me cheating?!" she was threatening him with her finger "You're out of your mind!"

"You know very well who I'm talking about" Aladdin shook his head.

The Scot glared "Don't you drag him into this"

"You're already defending him" he crossed his arms "I knew I didn't stand a chance against him, but you could have at least given me a chance"

"Can you please not" the tone in Merida seemed more dangerous, it was almost a threat in itself.

Aladdin went closer and looked into her eyes "Tell me right now, whenever you say I love you who was it for?"

That was when the secretary came "Miss McCullough, the dean would now speak with you"

/

"Could you believe the service they're giving me!" Kuzco landed on the sofa after a ten hour flight from Lima to New York to Rome.

Pinocchio managed to navigate himself around the apartment despite the several bags he had to carry and place the luggage in the guest room.

The Incan raised his finger "I want you to prepare my bath, I use chamomile for my delicate skin and Russian duck paste for my pores I'll be having black heads any minute right now so make it quick"

"You'll have to do it on your own" the Italian boy stretched his arms "I'm off to work right now"

Kuzco snorted "Who does work in the middle of the day?"

"It's 1 in the afternoon" Pinocchio checked his watched.

"I do not need a watch to know when the middle of the day is" Kuzco waved his hand "Where is my bath order?"

"Everyone works in the middle of the day Kuzco" Pinocchio went to leave.

The Incan sat up "But it's my vacation!"

"Well good for you" Pinocchio smiled before closing the door.

This made Kuzco groan "Oh where do I find good service around this place!" he tried to fall asleep again but his muscles were so tired, and he thought the ten hour flight was enough to raise a jet lag flag sheesh. "Sheesh you think that after working in here for two years he'd have a bigger place and actual help, his condo in Taipei was even bigger than this!"

"When I get my hands on . . ." just when he was about to plot death unto the owner of the apartment there was a knock on the door. "If you own this place at least open the door by yourself!" as a reply he got even louder and more persistent knocks.

"Urgh what is with Italian people?!" Kuzco then rolled out of the couch then rolled to the door then used his long arms to reach the doorknob and open it. "Some host you are to make the guest do the work"

What he didn't expect was to see a certain red headed amazona at the door "Well if it ain't the pansy"

/

In the elevator full of fashion designers, shoe designers and furniture designers, Arthur wondered how much creativity was packed in this metal box. He had just finished his lunch break and was gonna go back to the office to finish the model of the bank their team was designing. He had hoped Fred wouldn't try to get circular looking trees or the whole building would look like one giant male genital.

"Oh my gosh!" a woman exclaimed "I like your bag is that new?"

The owner of the Birkin bag scoffed "No, I got this only a week ago"

In the midst of the women bickering about the current state of bags Arthur's phone started to ring, and he didn't need to check the caller id to identify who it was "Kuzco I'm at work" he answered.

"Well your assistant didn't do any help to me at all!" the Incan groaned "He just dumped me and my poor babies like we were crocodile dung"

"He would have gladly held crocodile dung than you" the elevator reached the 8th floor making the two fashion editors leave.

Kuzco gasped "You wouldn't dare!"

"I wouldn't he would" Arthur removed his jacket since it was getting quite hot in the elevator "Now is that the only reason why you called me?"

"Oh yes there is" Kuzco then yelled "YOU DIDN'T TELL ME YOU HAD ANOTHER GUEST!"

This made Arthur and the shoe designer near him squint at the yell "Hey, I'm in public transport" the blond hissed.

"I thought you were at work" Kuzco asked.

"I am I'm in the elevator" he answered.

"How is that public transport?"

The Brit just groaned and got off the eleventh floor even though it wasn't his floor, he didn't know if he could handle arguing Kuzco sweating in a packed elevator. "Kuzco, I have no idea what guest you're talking about, you're not supposed to be a guest in the first place you just called me last night that you were coming here out of the blue"

"Well don't you like bonding with an old friend?" Kuzco said dramatically.

"I'm tired, I'm sweating and I'm almost cranky" Arthur made his way to the stairs to go to his floor which was just upstairs "So what guest are you talking about"

"That Scandinavian Amazona" the Incan hissed.

Arthur almost missed a step "Wait woah wait woah" he paused "Who?"

"LIKE YOU DON'T KNOW WHO THE HECK I'M TALKING ABOUT!" Kuzco yelled.

"Stop yelling on the phone" he was definitely gonna get hearing aids by the end of Kuzco's vacation. "And how can Merida be there she's . . ."

"STAY STAY RIGHT . . . .AHH" he heard a girlish scream on the phone "NO NO! Not the MONEYMAKER! HERE TAKE IT!"

Arthur placed a hand on the wall and leaned "Are you watching a soap-opera there by any chance?"

"No, he rather be the soap" said a very familiar Scottish tone.

Arthur's eyes went wide and for once he actually dropped his phone.

/

"So Senor Arthur what can I get for you?" the waiter asked, they were currently having dinner at Arvolo, a restaurant a few blocks from Arthur's apartment.

He didn't need the menu "The usual"

"For the madam" the waiter referred to Merida.

"Uhh . . . how do you even pronounce this?" she raised her menu and pointed at the order.

"That's pasta and chickpeas for the lady" the waiter wrote "And for you?"

Kuzco flipped his hair "Special braid Buffaloes with prosciutto, basil and tomato"

"Very well sir I'll be back with you shortly" the waiter bowed before getting their orders.

"Good thing he spoke English" Merida sighed.

Arthur shrugged "You're lucky he's the only fluent one here"

"Well then excuse me I have to powder my nose" Kuzco stood up.

"Isn't that a woman's excuse?" the Scot accused.

Kuzco snorted "Any excuse just to avoid another abuse from such a revile woman" and with a jump he left for what he assumed were the restrooms.

The two just stared at the departing Incan before looking at each other and then staring at other things in the restaurant. It was a bit awkward for them as the last time they had spoken in person was in Taipei two years ago, when he had just finished interning there.

"Why are you here?" Arthur asked "Christmas break isn't due in two weeks"

Merida was staring intently at her napkin "I needed the break already"

"I see . . ." he looked down at his plate "How do you know where I lived?"

"I followed your scent; spent three days walking around the city" Merida lifted her head "Actually had to ask directions from a deaf man, he was the only person who doesn't speak Italian"

Arthur looked at her and raised his brows "The deaf can't speak"

"And I don't have that good sense of smell" Merida leaned back against her seat "You have a return address on your letters you know"

He was silent for a moment before saying "Oh . . . right"

"Soo . . ." Merida tried to change the topic "How's working in here so far, it's been what two years?"

"Uhh . . . great, we're gonna have a presentation on Monday" Arthur blinked.

"That's good to hear" the Scot nodded.

"So you got my letters then" he said.

Merida nodded "Yeah all 7 of them"

"Uhuh" Arthur rested his arm on the table "Then why didn't you write back?"

"I reply on Facebook!" Merida defended.

"Yes with either a word or an emoji" Arthur raised a brow "Especially that poop emoji"

"It's not a poop emoji it's . . . umm . . . Nutella" Merida was blushing hard now.

"You know I rarely even use my Facebook anyway"

She scoffed "Well why are you so old school that you write letters, I mean who does that anymore? It's what 2016?"

"Well I rather write a more meaningful letter to journal what I do in here than use an emoji" Arthur crossed his arms "Yes that old school, you know that deal with it"

"I was wrong saying you look to young" Merida leaned in closer to him "You're actually too old"

"Says the woman who probably wears a chastity belt on her waist" Arthur deadpanned.

At that Merida's face fell and she leaned back to her chair "Yeah . . . chastity"

This made Arthur quickly regret what he had said "Oh . . . um I'm sorry . . . I mean well . . . it was joke then . . . and . . ."

"It's alright" she raised her palm "I'm . . . just tired . . . it's been a long flight"

"You sure . . ." he studied her face for a moment "There's something bothering you isn't there?"

That was when their waiter came in "Now here are your orders"

"Shouldn't you call Kuzco?" Merida did a smile "He's been powdering for a while now"

Arthur stood up "He's probably going for a geisha look"

/

After they got back from the restaurant Kuzco immediately retreated to the sofa to turn on the television and see Incantesimo was on and the Incan apparently was now hooked.

"I didn't know you knew Italian?" Merida said in surprise.

"He doesn't need to know the language to feel the story and the characters" Arthur shrugged "Trust me you should see him watching Korean novelas"

Kuzco glared "Shh . . . I'm watching!"

"There's a TV in the guest room" Arthur went to the kitchen to make tea.

Kuzco quickly got up "And why didn't you say so?"

"I thought you saw it when you unpacked" he yelled from the kitchen.

"You liar you didn't say anything!" Kuzco yelled before running to the bedroom.

Merida then took the spot in the couch and got the remote "Do you have cable?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure SpongeBob Squarepants is on" Arthur sat next to Merida.

It was the episode where SpongeBob takes a hold of Mermaid Man's utility belt and ends up shrinking everything around him.

"So you watch this on a daily basis?" Merida asked remote in hand and feet on Arthur's lap while he was sipping his drink.

The Brit shrugged "Pretty much, rather watch this than an Italian version of General Hospital"

"Point taken" she played with the remote "I always thought Patrick was smarter than they take him for granted"

"Didn't they have an episode where he became a genius?" Arthur poked the heel of Merida's foot.

Which made her foot jump and she pulled her feet back "HEY! What was that for!?"

He raised his cup "Need to refill"

The woman rolled her eyes "Dunderheid"

He replied by smacking the back of her head before getting another cup "Just say if you want one as well"

"No" she stuck her tongue out and turned back to the TV.

Arthur just shrugged and went back to the kitchen just in time for another ring from his cell "Ciao" he said.

"Isn't that bye?" said a certain Scandinavian.

"No Anna its hello in Italian, I thought you were my boss" Arthur answered; he had been expecting this call to come.

"Umm . . ." Anna seemed uncertain "Did Merida say anything to you?"

"What do you mean?" he said looking at the said red head at the corner of his eye. "Did something happen?"

Anna sighed "Yeah . . . we kinda . . . had an argument"

"Argument? Did you fight over who would pay the rent again?" this has happened before with Merida threatening to live with a hobo a few blocks from the campus if Anna didn't pay.

"No it's . . . worst" Anna's voice cracked before she spoke again "She's gone"

"Gone . . . like what?"

"Gone she's oh my gosh"

The show was done and she didn't seem interested in the following show that was about monster dolls in some boarding school. She then turned to the kitchen to see Arthur on the phone; she decided to make herself a cup of tea before taking a snooze herself.

So she got off from the sofa then walked to the kitchen but stopped when she heard the conversation going on.

"Look, Merida hadn't told me anything" Arthur had his back faced against her "I hardly check my social accounts and she usually just sends me emojis"

The Scot just took a step back before slowly leaving the kitchen but was stopped when Arthur pulled the hood of her jacket, damn it and he wasn't even looking at her.

"Ok . . . I'm sorry" he said "I'm sure you'll find her, she won't go to some place that she would harm herself" he nodded "Ok bye Anna"

Merida tried to remove the jacket off her but he pulled her again that her back was now against his chest.

He placed his phone in his pocket "Ok from what I heard from Anna you've got a rough week at school" he then had an afterthought "I sound like a parent back there"

"Paw let me go then" she said.

"I'm not even holding you" he said releasing her hood "So that's why you reacted that way when I said chastity"

"I'm tired I've had a long flight" Merida said slowly walking away from him.

He then followed her "You slept as soon as you crashed in here; come on there's something you're not telling me here"

"There's nothing to tell" Merida was speeding in her walk. "Anna told you everything, didn't she?"

"That's not everything" he blocked her way to her guestroom "Tell me what happened?"

"I want to sleep" Merida glared.

"Well we won't be getting that tonight if you don't start talking" Arthur crossed his arms.

"Like you would even listen" Merida pushed him.

He was pushed against the door "Ow . . . since when didn't I listen?"

The Scot was silent for a moment and it ended up with a staring contest between the two. Who was more stubborn between the two, who had more pride between them, who was more tired between the two.

Merida finally took notice of the eyes staring at her, it wasn't obvious awhile back probably due to the light but right now she could clearly see his eyes were more bloodshot than a person actually shot in the eye. There were also bags in his eyes that were actually making him look his age, heck even older now.

"When was the last time you slept?" she asked forgetting about their staring contest.

It took a while for him to register she said something "Huh? Oh never mind that"

"You know . . . you seem . . . different" Merida stepped closer to him; she then wondered why she was smelling something weird.

"You're changing the topic" Arthur broke his gaze on her.

She stood on her toes and held his shoulders to take a whiff of him "You're smoking has gotten worse"

"It's the only thing that keeps me awake" he said looking at the ceiling "I get rashes from nicotine patches"

Merida still holding his shoulders "Do you still have work to do?" she asked softly.

"Not at the moment" he looked at her "You still didn't tell me"

"We're both tired" she let go of him "I'll tell you tomorrow"

"What if you suddenly leave tomorrow" he held her cheek.

She closed her eyes, fatigue was slowly getting to her now and if she didn't move now she would just sleep right on this floor. "Do you think I have anywhere else to go?"

"You broke up with Al didn't you?" he said rubbing her chubby cheeks with his thumb.

She just mumbled a "hmm" as a reply.

"Fine I won't bother you for now" he released his hand and he actually heard a whine from the girl, which surprised the both the Brit and herself.

She blushed red "Umm . . . yeah I think I really need sleep"

"Go ahead then . . ." Arthur moved out of the door and she quickly went for the door but stopped holding the doorknob. "Sorry for crashing on you like this"

"Well if I let Lord Lady Duchess of Superiority and Gluttony in, I'm pretty sure I can handle another visitor" he rubbed her head.

She looked at him again then removed his hand from her head, she then went closer to him stood on her toes again (she hated the fact he was 6'7) and kissed him.

It was a quick one for a soon as it was done she quickly went for her room leaving a surprised Arthur.

 **A/R: For my old readers, this is my apology for not continuing Coincidence. A lot has happened to me that time and I just couldn't wrap my head around the story anymore until recently. I'm so sorry for that. But I assure you that I'm still on with it.**


	2. Chapter 2

Italics - Italian

/

Around 2 am at Goring & Straja Architects the Green Place Project team were busy running around trying to finish unfinished plates and 3-D models. Arthur wasn't exactly a part of the renovation team but he was dragged into the damn project by a certain Tadashi Hamada.

"Sorry I had to pull you into this, I know you were busy with the Emilia Romagna bank" the Japanese-American was scratching his head "But Honey Lemon called in sick today and she said you were ok with filling in for her"

Arthur was busy in front on a computer transferring whatever was on the paper to the program "Well I did owe her for that one time"

"Fred stop drooling on my table!" Gogo took a rolled up issue of Top Gear and smacked it to the sleeping figure.

The man quickly sat up and looked around his surroundings "Huh . . . we're still here?"

"Of course we're still here!" she smacked him again.

Tadashi sighed "Sorry about the noise"

Arthur shrugged "If you want a ruckus come to my house at around 3:24 and 5:35"

"FOOOODD!" Wasabi suddenly yelled when someone stepped out of the elevator holding coffee and donuts.

Merida eyes widened at the sudden attack of the large man that by reflex she kicked the man right in the nuts while still holding the food.

Wasabi almost stopped breathing "fooo. . . odd" he wheezed before falling to the ground.

Everyone looked at the scene stopping at whatever they were doing it was silent for a moment before Gogo suddenly spoke "You know what I think I like you"

"You didn't have to kick the guy in the nuts" Arthur stood up moving across the sea of tables towards her "And what are you doing here?"

"Well he was going to pound me I was doing me best to survive" she raised the box of donuts "And don't worry I brought enough for everyone"

"Smart woman you have there, Lancelot" Fred went over to them.

Tadashi on the other hand went to Wasabi "Hey" he slapped the man's face "Ok he's still breathing he'll be fine in a few minutes"

So they crew decided to have a coffee break, well everyone except Arthur.

"You know I feel kinda guilty he's the one still working and he isn't even part of the team" Wasabi said fully recovered and devouring his 3rd donut.

"I thought they were having a presentation later" Fred checked his smart watch "Later at around 9"

"Nine?!" Merida almost spat her coffee "It's a quarter past two now!"

"Wasn't he project manager as well?" Gogo added.

"AND YOU MADE HIM WORK HERE?" Merida glared at Tadashi.

The man gulped "Well I didn't actually ask him to, it's just that we were understaffed because one of us didn't make it and when he heard it he offered to help us"

The Scot rubbed her temples "Gosh even now he's still too chivalrous"

"I thought I'd never meet anyone more saintly that our dear leader here" Fred pointed towards Tadashi "But damn Lancelot seems to be passing him by a few points"

"Lancelot?" Merida asked.

"He likes to gives us all nicknames" Tadashi explained. "We don't know where they come from, like Wasabi's"

"THAT WAS ONE TIME!" the big man whined.

"Hey guys still have any there left?" Arthur yawned as he made his way to the group.

"Stop working you're making me look bad" Tadashi offered him a chair and gave him a cup.

Arthur accepted the cup "What do you mean?"

"You. Me. Talk. Now." Merida stood up. This made Wasabi whistle and Gogo shake her head.

The Brit blinked "Umm . . . talk you mean . . ."

"I'm pretty sure you have an office in here" she crossed her arms.

"Looks like someone's in trouble" Fred smiled "Good luck with Mordu"

Tadashi looked at his colleague "Now where the hell did that come from?"

/

Arthur led the red head to closed room at the far end of the floor and made sure that no one would indeed witness what he assumed was his ass-whooping. He'll need a smoke after this.

"Ok . . . if this is about me overworking . . ." Arthur spoke.

"Why do you have a hookah in your room?" Merida said.

He was taken aback for a moment "When . . . did . . . how . . ."

"Apparently Kuzco barged into my room which apparently was your room and found something in your bed" she crossed her arms "For a moment he thought it came from me"

Arthur was silent for a while "When did you find this?"

"Around after dinner" she glared "I won't be surprised if you have a weed stash behind the toilet"

"HEY!" Arthur defended before continuing in a soft voice "You checked that too?"

"For the love of . . . NO!" she raised her hands "Seriously did you even have dinner?"

"Yeah dimsum" as a reply Merida grabbed a folder nearby rolled it up and smacked the Brit.

"YOU LITTLE BAWBAG" she continued smacking him "NO WONDER YER A SCRAWNY LIL BRAT!"

"Ok OK OK!" he managed to grab the folder and throw it away "NO MORE!"

Merida paused for a moment before hitting him with her fists "YA GOOD FOR NOTHIN' WALLAPER!"

"MERIDA!" Arthur didn't see the chair behind him and while trying to dodge the wrath of the Scot he ended up tripping on the chair, Merida falling down with him.

Arthur moaned a bit in pain having to handle not only Merida's punches but her weight, he noted that she had gained a bit more since his graduation.

Having enough of the physical abuse he managed to grab her fists "Stop . . . right . . . now"

She was panting on top of him "Let me go" she said.

"Not betting on that" with that he flipped her over and now he was on top.

She glared "Sexual assault"

"Now you're the one whining" he pinned her down.

"How are you still this strong when you're a drug addict" Merida glared.

"Still play tennis on the weekends" he panted "And running around the fire exit when the elevator is cramped helps"

She shifted her head so she was looking at the chair that was also on the floor "Unfair"

"What is unfair right now is that I made you stay in my already full apartment, feed you and make me your punching bag when you won't tell me why the hell you're here" as an afterthought he added "And apparently you found my stash"

"It was Kuzco!" she defended "He's probably using that thing right now!"

"You've got to be kidding me" he sighed "Knew I should have placed it in the trunk"

"You're slipping" Merida said "Back then you hid your cigarettes in the clinic and they didn't even know it"

He stared at her, her hair seemed even thicker than last time and it was already thick enough to make him have hair balls whenever he fell asleep on her. "Say for yourself, has there even been a time where I actually pinned you to the ground?"

She finally looked at him "Touché"

"So you're not gonna tell me" Arthur said noticing the moonlight was maker her face look even paler.

Merida sighed "Can we at least not be on the floor, it's like you're gonna whip me if I don't say it"

"Oh . . . uhh . . . sorry" he let go of her arms and got off her.

She then slowly stood up denying the man's help picked up the fallen chair and sat on it "Man your grip got stronger" she said looking at the marked in her hands.

"Do you still remember this?" Arthur pulled up his polo sleeve to show a weird shaped mark on his shoulder.

This made the woman chuckled "You had it coming"

"No I didn't" he rolled down the sleeve "Hurts sometimes too you know"

Merida looked down at the floor "So yeah . . . that's what happened" She concluded, after telling him what happened from the moment she caught Al in her room with Jasmine, to what happened with reindeer man, up to the incident in the dean's office. She then finally looked up, suddenly realizing she'd been crying.

"I think I care too much." she muttered, wiping a tear with her index finger and looked at it.

Arthur had a passive look on his face as he said, "Apparently we both had a rough week"

"You could say that" she said still looking at the dried tear on her finger.

He went closer to her and placed his hand over her face rubbing her tears with his thumb "You've just been affected by too many people" he told her.

She looked up at him without saying a word.

"No wonder you kissed me." He bent down and pressed a kiss on her forehead going to her nose to her cheeks before touching her lips. He was about to pull away but Merida immediately pulled him back kissing him again.

Merida bit his lips her own while holding on to the collar of his shirt.

Arthur took a moment before he decided to respond, his hands moving around her waist. When she gasped after realizing he unbuttoned her coat he used this as an opportunity to plunge his tongue into her mouth.

The red head's eyes widened before she pushed him away, surprised. Then she removed her coat before wrapping her arms around his neck and taking his mouth. She didn't know if she could get any closer to the boy as she tried to fill in any gap between them.

Arthur while still kissing her picked her up and perched her on the table. The two pulled away from each other, foreheads against each other, panting as they took in a breath.

"You . . . don't . . . know how long I wanted to do that" Merida said between huffs.

As a reply Arthur took her mouth again deepening their kiss which made the red head moan. After a while Arthur pulled out again and this time went for her neck, Merida moaning after he found a sensitive patch of skin, which he sucked on gladly to leave a mark for future reference.

Merida then started unbuttoning his polo shirt but stopped when Arthur suddenly held her breast while nibbling her neck and going up to her ear. Before she knew it she was flat on her back on the table, her shirt and bra tossed aside and Arthur sucking the nipple of her left breast while massaging the other.

"Ah ah ah . . ." the red head moaned, hands going up to the Brit's hair, messing it up.

The knocking on the door pulled the two back to reality.

"Hey Arthur!" Tadashi called from the other side of the door "We're gonna pack up and go now"

The Brit sighed, "We'll be there in a minute"

"Ok then" Tadashi said.

After a few moments Merida quickly shoved the man off her making him fall on the floor again.

"What is it with you and . . ." he got cut when he received a slap from the woman.

She clenched her jaw and was about to say something but decided against it and just picked up her clothes, wore them and left him in the office.

Arthur heaved dutifully, watching after the retrieving figure of the redhead. He ran a hand through his hair as he let himself lie down on the floor, "What am I gonna do with her?"

/

"I've decided to become an animal photographer!" Kuzco declared the next morning raising his spoon in the air.

Arthur was leaning against the counter sipping coffee "The other night you said you wanted to make a new design for pasta"

"I was a very young boy then" the Incan twirled "I was unaware of how ravage the world around me was, too many thoughts and ideals attacking each other to create new thoughts that lead to fanaticism that will eventually become religion"

"And what's your current job again?" Arthur asked.

"Oh I work as a legal advisor" Kuzco said smugly.

The Brit nodded "Still have that clerk job I see"

"Shush be silent" Kuzco took a spoon of his pasta "And be gone" he threw at him.

Arthur glared when the pasta feel on the floor "You're gonna clean that"

"How dare you to make me do that!" Kuzco pointed at him with his spoon "I am a valued guest in this institution"

"Well this institution specializes in making it feel like you are at home" Arthur got a rag from the sink and threw it at Kuzco's face "And at home you tend to clean"

The Incan squealed "GET THIS MONSTER OFF ME!" he threw his spoon and ran around the kitchen eventually bumping into Merida.

"Wut da heck is wrong with ya?" the red head pulled the rag from his face.

"He's making me clean!" Kuzco wailed.

"I'm not doing all the work here!" Arthur finished his cup "He's already making me do his laundry"

Merida just smacked the rag into the Incan's face "Clean it" before leaving the kitchen and retreating to the bedroom.

Kuzco was about to whine again before Arthur just passed him "Just make sure I don't see ants when I get home" he said before getting his coat and leaving the house.

Kuzco stared at the bedroom door and the entrance door "Hmm . . . I've placed myself in some sort of predicament" he thought for a moment "I must leave this country before they decide to use me as a peace offering"

/

"WHERE ON EARTH ARE YOU?!" Tiana screamed the moment Merida sent her a request on Skype.

"Well . . ." since she had only brought enough cash for a ticket and a few belongings she did not bring her laptop, meaning she stole the one she was using now from Kuzco "I'm in . . . Europe?"

Tiana rubbed her temples "Well your mother doesn't seem to know where you are since she called earlier . . ."

"SHE WHAT?!" Merida's eyes widened.

"And I covered for you" Tiana pointed a finger "You owe me, so you're not in Scotland"

"Well nope" Merida sighed in relief.

"Jane didn't send me a text so you're also not in London" Tiana placed her hands on her waist "The fact you said Europe, and you were so stressed you decided to take a last minute flight meant you're in Rome"

Merida remained silent.

"Seeing as you're in a room and not some computer café means you're in Arthur's place" Tiana concluded.

Merida remained silent.

"And judging from the hickey I see here means you apparently enjoyed yourselves" Tiana smirked.

Merida quickly jumped went to the mirror and indeed saw a mark on her neck "He really did leave a mark . . ."

"Hmm . . . so it was him" Tiana nodded "I assume he ain't a rebound from Al seeing as you guys had sexual tension since his graduation"

"We didn't have sex" Merida sat in the bed again "We actually had a fight last night"

Tiana hummed "Well give us five minutes and we'll probably be hating each other"

"I don't think that's necessary" the red head sighed "How's princess?"

"Well she's becoming an emotional wreck, as soon as you ran out Kristoff was asking Anna if she saw you"

Merida face-palmed "That idiot"

"Well Anna pretty much slapped him right there before running away and locking herself in your dorm" Tiana shook her head "As usual I have to be the responsible one feeding her, right now she goes to classes but . . . you gotta come back"

Her palm was still on her face "I don't think I can come back yet"

"Well you can't stay there either" Tiana tapped her fingers "Arthur has enough stress to handle and now he has to take care of you"

"Kuzco's here as well" Merida lowered her hand.

"See? That's pretty much taking a toll on him" Tiana gave her a look "Merida I don't know what kind of crap you need to figure out but you better do it quick, I can't hide you from your mother for long"

"I'll talk to her later" Merida sighed "Sorry for everything . . . I really owe you a lot"

Tiana sighed "Just . . . don't . . . never mind I'll see you soon"

Merida logged out and closed the laptop. She had to admit she was pretty much abusing the guy, she was already sleeping in his bedroom while he used the couch and she was pretty sure he didn't even sleep awhile back.

Heck she didn't even know why she slapped him earlier. It was her who led him to make him do that and she was sure if they weren't disturbed many things would have happened.

"Kuzco I'm going out" Merida yelled after changing stepping out of the bedroom only to be greeted by an empty apartment. "He must have went out as well" she said before adjusting her coat.

/

When Kuzco came to pick up Arthur for lunch he found the said man using three swivel chairs as a bed: One for his head, one for his feet and the third one in the middle so he wouldn't fall off easily.

"Does he do this all the time?" Kuzco asked a nearby co-worker who had the name Penny on her name tag.

"Oh" the blonde pig-tailed girl bowed "Yes usually after finishing two jobs"

Kuzco shook his head "I'm surprised he wasn't hospitalized yet, I mean seriously"

"Well he did say he didn't like sleeping" Penny said.

The Incan nodded "Well thanks I'll take him from here" he waited for the girl to leave before kicking the chair in the middle of Arthur's 'bed'.

This made Arthur's butt fall off thus waking the man with a jolt.

"Wart time for lunch chop chop" Kuzco clapped his hands.

The Brit just glared.

Kuzco checked his custom made Piaget watch "Well you better get up now, it's a drag to book restaurants here in Europe"

Arthur raised a brow "You're actually paying?"

"Well abuse my generosity while it still lasts" Kuzco slipped on a pair of Armani shades "It comes and goes like a woman's period"

The blond was about to say something before a woman came to his office "WARRTTTT!" the woman's voice bellowed throughout the entire floor "GET OVER HERE!"

Her voice has made Kuzco jump and quickly hold unto the swivel chair, the one he had kicked earlier, for dear life.

The woman was large and in Kuzco's opinion looked like the drag queen Devine had come back from the dead and became Italian, and probably had a failed sex change as well.

She was waving an invitation "I need you to attend the Giornate FAI in Castel Sant' Angelo this evening" she dropped the env`elope on his desk.

Arthur was still on the floor looking confused "Doesn't the Giornate happen during March? It's almost Christmas"

"Well the management wanted a pre-Giornate for some reason this year" the woman looked at her nails which were polished in a certain shade of fuchsia that seemed to have a design of octopuses on them "Since the people at FAI seem to like you, you are to pick me up at my house by 7pm"

The Brit blinked "Pardon?"

"You apparently don't know when to pick-up" the woman flicked the dirt of her fingernails at him "You are to become my escort tonight"

"But . . . Madam Ursula . . ." Arthur stood up "You just gave me that pizzeria building in Bondeno this morning!"

"Are you complaining about the projects I'm giving you?" Madam Ursula raised her finger "Don't you see that I am giving you every opportunity by providing you with projects only your subordinates would strive hard for!"

Arthur sighed "But I just showed a presentation for Emilia Romagna awhile back"

"Are you rejecting my gratitude?" Ursula pointed her very sharp nail on Arthur's neck.

The Brit had no choice but to accept his faith "No ma'am"

"Very good" the woman took back her hand "You know where I reside so don't be late" she walked towards the door "And wear something decent so you'd look less like a dog" and she slammed the class door hard making some items on the wall shake.

Kuzco was still holding on to the swivel chair "When was the last time you had a vacation?"

Arthur was rubbing his forehead "What's a vacation?"

/

It was a nice cool day to walk the streets of Rome that lunch time, and Merida was roaming around the city to take view in some of the sights. She had made a donation to St. Mary of Eulogies and the Dead and was led by a nun to a room surrounded by skeletons. She had explored the temple of the Mithraic cult that was next to Circus Maximus and pondered on the said religion for a moment.

Right now she was taking a leisurely stroll in Piazza di Spagna while eating Rice Croquettes she got from a nearby shop. "Hmm wonder where to next" she said taking a bite while looking at her map.

She then looked up to see a four story house with a banner that said 'Keats and Shelley House'. "Hmm . . . well I do need a variation from all the catacombs I've been seeing all day" she folded her map and went inside.

Merida then found herself with a group that consisted of a bored Egyptian family, an Old Italian man who seemed to be speaking in Klingon a pair of Chinese high school students who seemed amazed at her Scottish accent and a Hungarian red head that was looking at the walls and reading whatever was written on them.

"Now this is the salone it is the largest room in the museum" their tour guide spoke in English, which Merida was grateful for as foreign languages were never here thing. "During Keats time it was divided into two rooms"

"You know Braveheart?" the female high school student asked.

"You mean da Mel Gibson movie?" Merida just hated it when people kept asking her that when they found out she was Scottish. It was like asking British people if they personally knew the queen.

The Hungarian girl turned to them "Well do you know Genghis Khan?" she asked.

"He's the father of all Mongolia" said the male student.

"Therefore Mel Gibson is the father of all Scotland" the girl raised a finger "And you know how Mel Gibson is"

The two looked at the girl in confusion before realizing what she said and then leaving both red heads in peace.

"You know I've been in this place so many times I think I can provide you a better tour" the Hungarian offered a hand "Ariel by the way"

The Scot took her hand "Merida"

"So what brings you here to Keats final resting place" Ariel asked as they walked away from the tour group and explored the house on their own.

"Well I was looking at tombstones and skeletons all morning" Merida said looking at some of the books on the shelf "Apparently I'm fascinated by death at the moment"

"You should see the Appian Way there are catacombs over there" Ariel brought out a notebook and a pen and drew something "They looked something like this" she ripped the paper and showed her drawing to Merida.

Merida took the paper "Apparently you have an eye for morbid things as well"

Ariel twisted her hair with her pen "Well I don't see it all black and gloomy, sometimes when I look at gravestones I ponder on what kind of life the person might have lived, especially the ones who reach over 90 they always have great stories lying around"

They had looked around house more until they reached Keat's bed when Merida spoke "So he died of what again?"

"Tuberculosis, the only reason he went to Italy was because they thought the warmer weather would be better for his health" Ariel placed her fingers on the mantle with a description "It was quite unfortunate really, but at least he got a taste of moderate success"

Merida followed Ariel out "So are you a local?"

"Well . . ." Ariel tapped a finger on her chin "I've only been here for 5 months so you could say I'm slightly more experience than the usual tourist"

"Do you know any good pubs then" Merida checked her watch it was approaching six. "Kinda craving for a beer right now"

Ariel smiled "You've got the right girl" the woman raised her fist "Now wait here while I get my car I'll take you to a pretty neat place"

/

"Why don't you call a sick leave or something?" Kuzco asked while Arthur as they walked around the plaza "Like you don't actually look healthy to begin with."

After having lunch at Osteria Bonelli Kuzco decided to drag Arthur to the shopping district to pick out clothes.

"Kuzco I have to get back to work" Arthur was jogging towards the Incan who seemed to be walking quite fast today.

"You heard your drag queen boss" Kuzco stopped by a store "We need to make sure you don't look like a dog"

Arthur sighed stopping near Kuzco "I don't need any more clothes" he then looked at the store sign "Kiton?"

"Don't tell me you don't have enough money for a designer suit" Kuzco entered the shop "Yet you have enough dough to buy a sleazy sports car"

The Brit grumbled as he followed Kuzco "That was a gift"

"From your uncle who's what? The King of France?" Kuzco went to look at the suits "I still don't understand why you didn't just take over your dad's company"

Arthur placed his hands on his pockets "First of all my uncle isn't the King of France, he runs a string of pubs in London and we don't have French relatives" he raised a finger "Second I don't think I'd be productive in business and Uncle Scrooge seems to run the company fine"

"Whatever" Kuzco touched the fabric of the blazer worn by a mannequin "So do you think this color would suit me?"

A tiny man with a distinctive white mustache and wearing a tape measure around his neck approached Kuzco "Greetings I am Nikolai how can I be of service to you?"

"Does this navy blue suit go well with my eyes?" Kuzco fluttered his lashes.

"I believe there's another color that would suit you" the tailor then turned to Arthur and looked at him up and down "Hmm . . . you look like a dog"

Arthur clicked his tongue "What is it with you people?"

/

Merida was led to some sort of nightclub that was thirteen minutes away from the Keats-Shelley house.

"Welcome to Stadlin" Ariel parked her powdered blue Toyota Camry Hybrid across the street.

The Scot got off the car "Hmm only a few people"

"They usually come by around twelve" Ariel locked her door "We should probably grab a bite to eat first"

It was only when they were ordering was when Merida realized that she has run out of money. The pocket money she had stolen from Kuzco had ran out and even though she knew where Arthur has hidden his extra debit cards she decided on not taking them.

"Umm . . . Ariel" Merida lowered her menu "You . . . see . . . I didn't really errr"

Without dropping her gaze from the menu "Don't worry it's on me" she offered a smile showing her pearly white teeth "I did drag you out here"

"But . . ." Merida was known to not owe anyone favors and she didn't want to start now.

Ariel snapped her fingers and a waiter appeared before them, she then spoke their orders in Italian.

While waiting for their orders Ariel asked "So what brings you here to Rome?"

"Umm . . . needed a break from school" Merida replied staring at the traffic outside.

"So you're a student" Ariel nodded she was drawing something in her notebook "Well I used to study Oceanography back in Hungary"

This perked Merida's interest "Why did you stop?"

Ariel had a bittersweet smile on her face "My father didn't accept me"

"Didn't accept you?" Merida faced the girl in confusion.

"You see" Ariel continued to scribble on her notebook "I was the youngest of seven sisters my mother had passed away during my birth so my father always sheltered me"

Merida nodded "Yeah my mum does the same thing"

"So when I finally got away from them, I was a bit naïve" Ariel closed her notebook "I was a bit too naïve about the world"

In here Merida couldn't help but remember Anna and all the crap she'd been giving the girl.

"So when I fell in love for the first time" Ariel continued with a dreamy look on her face "I almost gave up everything, I didn't care what everyone said as long as I was with that person I wanted to spend my life with"

Merida took a sip on her drink "Little too familiar"

Ariel smiled "Have you ever felt that way for a person?"

The Scot looked at the table "I just caught me bampot boyfriend cheating on me with some hoore so . . ."

Ariel covered her mouth "Oh my . . . I'm sorry"

"It's alright" Merida waved her hand "Oh look the food's here"

/

"I'm surprised you didn't want to come to the gala" Arthur said as he dropped Kuzco in some resto-bar in Antonio Paciotti.

Kuzco was wearing a gray toga over polo and gray pants along with a black bonnet and Armani shades.

"Well I don't wanna bear witness to you drag queen boss" Kuzco got off Arthur's Aston Martin Vanquish.

Arthur just shrugged "Suit yourself"

"Don't mess with your hair" Kuzco pointed.

Arthur was wearing a black Kiton suit with a brown tie and trench coat. His hair was slicked back with the help of one bottle of hair gel from Kuzco which Arthur swore was probably lard.

"I know" Arthur was about to raise the window when Kuzco waved a hand.

"Oh and if you're worried about the Scandinavian Amazona her bra is still in your bed" the Incan then ran before Arthur could punch the living daylights out of him.

Kuzco entered the restaurant and the first thing he noticed was a redhead at the bar.

"You've got to be kidding me" Kuzco marched towards the bar and pulled the girl's hair "Where the hell have you been!? Wart was looking EVERYWHERE for you!"

"You've got the wrong person!" the girl screamed.

"What do you mean" he turned the around showing a girl who definitely wasn't Scottish "Oh oh"

"Kuzco hell ye dain?" Merida stood right behind him.

The other read head was rubbing her scalp "You know him Merida?"

"We're technically roommates" Merida crossed her arms "What's with the toga?"

"It's fashion" Kuzco pointed at her "YOU! We've been looking everywhere for you! Wart was wondering if you left for Tanzania or something"

Merida's jaw stiffened "Where is he then?"

"He went to some gala in some castle" Kuzco leaned against the bar "He went there to escort his boss"

"Escort?" the Scot blinked.

Ariel looked at Merida then at Kuzco then back again "Well I don't know about you guys but I wanna dance" she then got between the two and headed for the dance floor.

"So . . . new friend" Kuzco looked at the girl who just left "She looked as though she placed a fork in her hair as an accessory"

"And you're in a toga" Merida countered "So . . . he's not mad?"

"To be precise he's tired" the Incan raised a hand to order a drink "He just had to escort his boss in the last minute"

"Merida come on!" Ariel took the fellow red head's hand and tried to drag her to the dance floor.

"Go on have your fun" Kuzco said taking his drink and having a sip "I'm waiting for the DJ's to come"

Before Merida could say anything Ariel had pulled her towards the center of the dance floor before releasing her hand

"Come on why so serious?" Ariel pointed at Kuzco "Was that you ex?"

This made the Scot almost gag "Hell naw! Even Kim Kardashian is manlier than him!"

"So why the serious face?" Ariel was the only one dancing between the two of them.

"It's just . . . there's this guy . . . well we . . . kinda had a falling out" Merida rubbed the back of her head "Well I fell out anyway"

The Hungarian just nodded and continued dancing.

"I think I just messed up my entire relationship with him. I mean . . . the only thing that's complicating this relationship is me . . . and I don't want him to seem like some rebound . . ." Merida was silenced when Ariel placed a finger on her lips.

"Relax . . . and enjoy the music" Ariel sang.

/

Social media has created a large impact on society in a large scale. Millions of Millennials have most if not all of their lives circling around these social platforms. This generation of individuals had been defined as technologically dependent and vocal about issues which most of the time they do not understand. Despite this as per usual the older generation will try their best to adapt to the changes as to not feel left out among the phenomenon that is social culture. They will do anything to fit in even if it makes them look more ridiculous than the teenagers themselves.

An example of this is Ursula Cecaelia taking a selfie throughout the entire drive to Castel Sant' Angelo. It was quite horrendous that Arthur had to avoid looking at the rear view mirror if he didn't want to hurl.

 _Well_ , Arthur thought, _at least she said I didn't look like a dog_. He finally reached the castle where there was a valet waiting. He stopped the car gave the keys to the valet and opened the door for the Madam.

"Smile for the camera Wart" Ursula raised her purple iPhone 6s "While deemed worthy"

Arthur managed to come up with a simple smile against Ursula's large and psychotic looking one. The woman was wearing a Blumarine sequin top and Chanel black skirt with her hair now dyed in several colors matching her top.

"Madam Ursula" came a tall man wearing a white Armani suit with a hat and holding unto a cane "I'm surprised you were able to join us"

"Now Fredorico who could deny such an invitation" Ursula then did her signature maniacal laugh.

Frederico joined with a chuckle of his own but seemed uncomfortable doing so, his attention then went unto her escort "Now who is this young man?"

"He's one of our finest architects Arthur Terence Pendragon" Ursula placed a hand on the Brit's waist which made Arthur grateful for not removing his coat as her nails were now sharper than ever for the occasion.

Fredorico's eyes widened "Pendragon? Like the Pendragon's who own the Lionheart Corporation?"

"It's now run by a McDuck" Arthur replied calmly.

"Arthur? So you're Uther's son?" Frederico asked.

Ursula tightened her grip and whispered to his ear "You didn't tell me you where the heir of a conglomate"

Luckily for Arthur Frederico took him away from Ursula's clutches "My my I see quite the resemblance, you have your mother's eyes though"

Arthur nodded "Well thank you"

"Come I have many fond memories with your father" Frederico lead Arthur to the entrance of the castle completely ignoring Ursula "Like the time we ran around the vineyard naked"

Again the Brit nodded "Definitely sounds like something father would do"

/

The party at Stadlin was getting wilder as the night progressed. Merida had already taken a few drinks and was now dancing madly with Ariel. While Kuzco was trying to hook-up with Italian girls only to be rejected everytime.

"I told you this was fun!" Ariel shouted as the music was now loud and heavy.

Merida just bobbed her head and kept dancing, she hadn't been this hyper in a while and she felt great just forgetting about all the problems that were messing with her head lately.

Ariel had a little smile on her face as she slowly got closer to Merida. She then slowly wrapped her arms around the fellow redhead "So, you having fun?"

"Haven't had this . . . huh?" Merida was taken aback by how close Ariel was to her she stopped dancing.

"Why did you stop?" Ariel was still moving her hips.

This made it a bit too awkward for Merida "Ariel . . . what are you doing?"

The Hungarian's face was now close to her "Just relax" she closed her eyes and brushed her lips against Merida's own.

This made the Scot's eyes widened but it became uncomfortable for her when Ariel tried to open her mouth. Enough was enough so Merida pushed the girl hard that she fell on the dance floor.

People were now pausing to look at them and Merida started to walk off only for Ariel to stand up and chase after her.

"Merida, wait!" Ariel caught up with her at the bar "Come on you didn't like that?"

The Scot glared "I'm ok with a little peck but shoving your tongue in me mouth is another story"

"Hmm . . . I thought you were at least bisexual" Ariel rubbed her chin "The way you look"

"I am perfectly straight" Merida crossed her arms.

"Are you sure?" Ariel grabbed a strand of Merida's hair "Maybe you were too quick to judge"

Merida slapped Ariel's hand away "Why do you have to be pushy!"

". . . Hmm, you like someone else" Ariel played with her own hair "Is it that one roommate?"

The Scot was about to leave when she realized "Where's my coat?"

"It's in my car" Ariel said still playing with her hair.

"Can I please have it" Merida sighed.

"Sure no problem follow me" Ariel brought out her keys and went ahead.

Merida went over to Kuzco who was sulking in a booth "If I don't come back in five minutes . . . call the navy"

The tanned man waved his hand as he downed another shot.

/

Merida went over to Ariel's car "Where is it?"

The said girl was crouched down in the driver's seat "I can't seem to find it would you check the back?"

"Alright" Merida groaned and got into the back of the car "Oh here I found it" she was going to open the door when she realized the door was lock.

Ariel started the car.

"Fud!"the Scot barked.

"If you attack me I'm gonna crash this car!" Ariel yelled her carefree demeanor gone.

Merida slapped her forehead "Of all the people I had ta meet it's the one dat went off her head"

The Hungarian was driving the car at a considerably fast pace she was staring at the road with an unreadable expression on her face.

The Scot tried to squeeze herself to the front "Look as much as I'd like to spend my night a fast paced tour of Italy, I don't trust crazy drivers"

"Everyone says that" Ariel spoke she has a wise smile on her face that was slightly creeping out her fellow redhead.

"Girl what do you want with me!?" Merida was holding onto the back of the driver's seat.

Ariel still had her eyes on the road "As a child my father always dotted on me"

"Lawd! She's telling her backstory!" Merida then tried to gain control of the wheel.

The car lost control for a moment as the two redheads struggled. Merida was trying to take Ariel's hands off the steering wheel while the Hungarian tried to push the Scoy away with one hand and drive with the other.

Merida used her elbow and hit Ariel hard in the face making the latter lose consciousness after hitting the window. Merida then tried to take control of the car only to realize that the car was nearing the edge of a bridge.

/

Right now the party was starting to bore Arthur. It was interesting talking with Frederico and looking at the other exhibits but the Brit was starting to get tired. He hasn't exactly taken a proper nap since this morning and walking around the castle while walking just made her even more exhausted.

He had long ago lost sight of Madam Ursula and right now he didn't give a damn if she were to lecture him the next day. All he needed now was a good sleep and he was now looking for an empty room or balcony to do it.

He could hear someone playing Long Black Train as he scanned the halls. "Maybe I should go home" he said with a yawn.

It was here that his phone started ringing "Hello?" he answered.

"Oh heeeeeyyy!" said an obviously intoxicated Kuzco.

"You seem to have more fun that me" Arthur yawned again.

This didn't deter the Incan "By the way, *hic* I saw *hic* Scandinavian *hic* amazona. . ."

This perked up his interest "You saw Merida? Where is she?"

"Met her in here *hic* the bar" Kuzco drawled "Was with some *hic* other red head *hic* chick"

"So she's not with you" Arthur didn't know if he should be relieved Merida arrested or something or worried she wasn't arrested yet.

"Nope" came Kuzco's reply "Though she told *hic* me to *hic* call"

"Finish your sentences I'm too tired to translate your drunken hiccupping" Arthur massaged his forehead.

"She said if she didn't *hic* come back in ten *hic* or was it *hic* five? Anyway *hic* if *hic*" it was in here were the Incan drawled his sentences "tistel *hic* gun I shoot *hic* calde Arny force *hic* n splat"

Arthur looked up at the decorative painting of the ceiling as though he were asking them to help him "Did she say where she went to?"

"Uhhh . . . glutton subblue wait *hic* it's artisian Carl eh . . . cumquat branches . . . uhh Mitsubishi? Hyundai?"

It was here when Arthur heard a loud screeching sound followed by a crashing sound. Suddenly the hallway was filled with people coming out of the rooms wondering what had just happened.

"Foton? . . . Is Audi Asian?" Kuzco asked.

Arthur ran for the balcony to see that there was a car that crashed into one of the angels in Ponte Sant' Angelo, particularly _Angel with the Cross_.

"Kuzco are you still there?" Arthur blinked.

"BMW?"

"Kuzxo!" he screamed trying to get the drunken Incan's attention "Did you say the car she got in was blue?"

"Yeh, butno jazz blew baby love"

He ignored the jumbled nonsense "Was it a Toyota?"

"YES!" Kuzco beamed "TOYOTA TOYOTA!"

"Shit" Arthur quickly hung up and ran outside towards the crash site "Shit! Shit! Shit!" the Brit cursed as he pushed himself through a sea of people.

"Wart! There you are!" Madam Ursula pulled him by the collar and from the looks of it she did not seem pleased "Where have you been? I've been spending the entire evening looking for you! You were supposed to stay by my side and assist me with investors by giving me drinks and fanning my face!"

Arthur roughly removed the woman's hand (or in this case claws) from his collar "That. Can. Wait." He said in an assertive tone before running off again.

There were several people surrounding the crash site and he barely managed to make it through the crowd.

"Sir, please step away from the scene" said one of the officers of the quick response team.

" _Where's the driver and the passenger_ " the Brit asked in Italian.

The officer was at first surprised by his fluency before replying him back also in Italian that they were about to get them.

" _Let me in I know one of them_ " Arthur pushed the man aside.

The officer held unto him " _Sir this is a restricted area!_ "

" _If you don't let me go now I'll throw you right into the river!_ " the Brit snapped.

" _Sire are you making a threat?"_ the officer tightened his grip.

Before Arthur could say anything the response team pulled out an unconscious redhead from the car.

"Just let me through!" Arthur yelled back in English as he shoved the officer and ran towards the medic team that was putting the woman on a stretcher "Merida!"

" _Sir do you know the victim"_ one of the medics asked.

" _I do . . ._ " he stopped when he took a good look at the girl. Sure she has thick red curly hair but it was move wavy and well kept, the girl also has a cleaner face absent of freckles and looked more Hungarian than Scottish _"I don't know this girl"_

That was when the officer from awhile back came to Arthur " _Sir if you don't come with me right now . . ._ "

"Arthur!" yelled a familiar voice in which the blond turned to see Merida who was also on a stretcher and being attended by the medics.

Again ignoring the officer he ran towards the girl. She was lying down and had a bandage on her forehead that was already red with her blood.

In a sore voice Arthur asked "What the hell happened to you?"

Merida did a weak smile "Long story"

/

 **A/N: So apparently I got caught up in watching this Kdrama and yes it may or may not be that super mainstream drama. But at least I managed to pull this off. I probably did a couple of grammatical errors and such.**

 **Review**


	3. Chapter 3

_Ten Years Later . . ._

The doctors kept telling them that she was going to be fine, and he knew that she was. She was stubborn alright, much like her mother. Even, though he knew that the little girl wasn't going to die, there was a tiny part of him that doubted.

"Are you alright?" said the woman standing next to him watching the operation from the large window reserved for only family of the patient being operated.

Arthur ran a hand over his hair "Just a little angtsy that's all"

"The doctors said it's a ninety-one percent chance of success" she said staring blankly at the surgeons who were cutting open the little girl's head.

Her little girl.

Her little girl who looked so much like her, she got her eyes and her freckles, her father's hair and nose. She was a perfect combination of the both of them, the greatest thing her father ever made and the best gift her mother ever got.

"Arthur" the woman spoke after over half an hour passed "Do you think it was my fault that this happened?"

The Brit turned to her. Her thick hair was in a messy bun with a few hair strands falling over her face, she had bags on her eyes staying up late; she was dressed in both his shirt and coat which both looked very oversized on her, washed out jeans that she wore in college and a pair of faded sneakers. Her left arm was around her waist while her right hand was resting under her chin.

"We've talked about this" indeed this wasn't the first time they'd had this conversation and it probably won't be the last "Merida, we both didn't put a clot in her brain"

Her face still expressionless. She still looked quite young despite the fact that she was a year over thirty; maybe it was her freckles that gave her youth.

The Brit was about to say something when he felt something vibrate in his pocket. He sighed then took out his Blackberry "Hello?"

"Daddy?" said the little boy's voice from the phone.

A little smile formed on his face "Hey buddy, what's up?"

"When are you, maw and Anne coming home?"

"Your sister is getting her surgery right now" he could see from the corner of his eye that Merida was looking at him.

"You wanna talk to your mom?"

Without hesitation the boy replied "Yes please"

The blond handed over the phone to the Scot "Your son wants to talk to you"

Immediately she grabbed the phone, took a moment to compose herself, placed the phone in her ear and did a smile "Now how's my favorite Viking doing?"

"Maw, I wanna go home" the little boy whined.

"You're already bored with ya uncle Taran and aunt Eilonwy?"

"They're ok . . ." she could imagine the boy doing a pout while drawing circles on the floor while on the phone "But . . . I miss Anne"

She bit her lip "They're fixing your sister now, maybe you could come visit tomorrow" she saw Arthur raise a brow at her.

"Really?" the boy sounded hopeful.

"I promise" Merida nodded "Now, be a good boy alright? I love you Uther"

"I love you too maw" the little boy mewled "Can I talk to pawpaw?"

"Alright then" she then gave the phone back.

He took his phone back then got a longer conversation with his son while Merida just starred as the doctors tried to save her daughter's life.

* * *

"You didn't have to come you know" it was the following day of the operation and Anne was sleeping peacefully as though nothing happened.

"I wanted to see how my godchild was" Anna gave the young mother a cup of coffee "And you as well"

The redhead accepted the drink "She is your namesake after all" she sipped her drink.

"It's good to know she's ok" Anna turned to her goddaughter with a smile "You don't know what I did when you told me she had a clot in her head"

"Trust me, I've done worst" Merida pushed a few hair strand's from her daughter's face "It was a miracle I didn't punch a hole through the wall"

The strawberry-blonde cocked a head "Aren't your walls made out of steel?"

"Hasn't stopped me before"

Nodding in agreement "Good point" she then changed the topic "So, where's Arthur?"

"Went to pick up her brother" Merida placed her half drank coffee on the bedside table "He's been whining about wanting to get back home"

"That's surprising" Anna sipped her coffee "Didn't think Eilonwy could actually bore a child"

"Uther wasn't bored, she just missed his sister" Merida sighed stroking the little girl's face "It's been a week already"

"I guess it's a twin thing a guess" Anna leaned against her seat "Good thing you didn't get triplets like your grandma said you would"

"When my mom found out I was pregnant with twins she was 'this'" she used her fingers for emphasis "Close to castrating Arthur when they first met"

Anna laughed in memory "Oh yeah, Tiana told me about that." She then paused "You know, I really didn't think you'd beat me to motherhood"

A tiny smirk formed on Merida's face "How's Reindeer Man?"

Despite being already in her thirties Anna still couldn't help but blush whenever people mention her husband "Ohh . . . he's doing great" she waved her hand "We were planning on building a little cottage in the ranch so we could bring in school kids and teach them about farming"

"That's nice, how's teaching in the country?"

"Well, it took me a while to adjust" Anna rubbed the back of her head "I mean, all kids are the same but kids in private schools are nothing compared to children of farmers and dairymaids"

This perked Merida's interest "There are still dairymaids?"

Anna brightened "I know right, I thought that most women wouldn't want the job because of feminism and social right and stuff but yeah there are still women who go house to house with bottle of cow's milk"

"It's a living" the Scot shrugged "A simple one, but a living"

Anna finished up her coffee "So how about you? How's the clinic?"

At this Merida rolled her eyes "Oh the usual, rich old hags who are overreacting because their Chihuahua or Chow Chow has fleas. Or if stupid prep brats accidently give too much alcohol to their pet parrot, and the occasional abandoned monkey due to custom problems."

Anna looked clearly appalled "Drunk parrots? Abandoned monkeys?" she shook her head in disdain "Those rich pricks"

"If you only knew how much I get paid to remove per flea" the Scot raised three fingers.

"Three hundred?"

"Thousand"

At this Anna's eyes widened "Three thousand per flea!?"

"Usually I get five, but the thicker the Chow Chow it goes up doesn't reach the double digits though"

"Merida!" Anna pointed at the woman "That's overcharging!"

"I didn't set the rates, apparently they were so grateful about me saving their 'Pepe' or 'Fifi' that they overcharge themselves" Merida shrugged.

The schoolteacher crossed her hands "And how much does Arthur get paid again?"

"Him?" the Scot thought for a moment "Well if it's a government project it usually doesn't drop six digits if it's a corporation or what not it's minimum is seven digits"

Anna's mouth dropped "Here you are as rich as Melania Trump and you dress like a hobo"

"Who dresses like a hobo?" said a little boy with curly red hair, blue eyes and several freckles wearing a yellow Pikachu jumper and Iron Man backpack.

At this Anna couldn't help but coo "Awww . . ." the woman went over to the ten year old boy "You're soooo cute!" she said squeezing the boy.

Said boy was now dying of lack of oxygen "Au . . .Aunt . . .Annaaaaaaa"

"I can't believe you're ten years old" she hugged the child even tighter "You still look just like a baby!"

"I'm not a baby anymore!" the little Merida tried to punch his way out of the older woman's hug.

Merida just chuckled at her son's expense "You shouldn't have worn such an adorable jumper then"

Uther pouted "But it's comfy"

"But also makes you look five years younger" commented the young boy's father who just came in.

"You really took the day off?" Merida asked.

Arthur closed the sliding doors "I'm sure Tadashi can handle them for a few more days, I haven't gotten any end of the world messages yet" he took a seat next to Anna in the couch "Besides, you kinda need a break as well"

Anna nodded "He's right you know. When was the last time you slept?"

"Last night" Merida crossed her arms.

"Last night or this morning?" Arthur spread his arms around the couch.

She gave the man a deadpan look "One thirty is still considered a night"

"It's one thirty in the morning not one thirty in the evening"

"The sun isn't out yet so it's still evening"

"You'll wake up Anne!" Uther yelled at his parents "She's still asleep"

Anna smiled at the young boy "Don't you want your sister to wake up?"

"I do" the young boy answered "But she's still in a lot of pain, I want her to wake up when the doctors finally get rid of the pain."

Again the Scandinavian couldn't help but coo at the boy "Aww, you love your sister so much"

"Besides" Uther added "It's kinda a pain to wake up to maw and paw's screaming matches"

At this both Arthur's eyes widened a blinked while Merida couldn't help but blush "Uther!" she scolded.

Anna smirked "Looks like your kids are smarter than you take them for"

"Anna shut up please"

* * *

Later that afternoon Arthur was at a local coffee shop not too far from the hospital with Taran, who at the moment was scowling at his coffee cup.

"How hard is it to spell my name?" the red head glared at what the clerk scrawled on the paper cup "It's T-A-R-A-N, Tah-ran"

Having had this argument before Arthur just stared blankly at the window outside sipping what he probably assumed was his fifth cup of coffee that day.

"I mean they even spell Kronk and Kuzco's name perfectly" Taran continued his rant "Even Eilonwy gets her name spelled right every once in a while! But me? Nope they spell my name as TERRAIN!"

Still staring at the window "You're getting as theatrical as Kuzco"

"Now mate do I look like a flat barren wasteland to you?" Taran slammed the coffee cup on the table "Well if I did then thank heavens I'm not a girl or I would be deeply insulted by the comment"

"Barren could apply for both male and female"

Taran opened his mouth as if to say something then closed it then opened it again "You have gotten snarky and cold, I thought fatherhood was supposed to do the opposite to you?"

Sipping his cup again "I've had a long night" Arthur replied.

Taran leaned against his seat "Had another fight with the missus?"

"We're not married"

"Must I remind you that you two are living in sin" Taran smirked "Even Eilonwy of all people is starting to get uneasy with your living situation"

"We live in Kensington, our children go to a humble Catholic school and we both have high paying jobs" Arthur turned to his friend "How is that an uneasy living situation?"

"Despite the fact that you bring in who knows how much every year you still don't plan to throw it all into the big fancy wedding your in-laws, kids, and uncle is asking for"

A frown formed on the blond's face "We don't have the time and it's pointless, might as well go get the certificate on our way back home or something"

Taran shook his head "If I asked you the same question ten years ago you would have dragged that woman of yours to the chapel kicking and screaming"

"Ten years ago I was recently fired from pulling the finger on my boss and was expecting twins from a one night stand I was too high to vaguely remember"

The red head gave him a look "You told me you were very sober when you made love to her that night"

"Really?" he took out a cigarette from his pocket and lit it with a lighter that looked like a tiny TARDIS "Don't remember"

"What happened to you man?" Taran starred as the man in front of him smoked "It's like you're . . ."

Removing the cigarette from his mouth "I'm what?"

"Are you depressed or something?" Taran said in a tone that showed he was definitely concerned about his best friend.

Tapping the stick "Anne is perfectly fine, she just woke up awhile back and the doctors said we could bring her back home tomorrow. How could I be depressed about that?"

Taran rested his head on his palm "Art, I'm not talking about Anne here."

Raising a brow "Uther is perfectly fine, sure he's got more scabs that freckles but otherwise perfectly fine"

"Alright then" Taran sighed "Humor me with this one question then"

Arthur gave him a look.

"When was the last time you shagged Merida?"

Arthur didn't know if he wanted to throw the still hot coffee on his friend for being rude or pat him on the back for being right.

* * *

Tiana took a cupcake holder and thread it through the bottom of the Popsicle before giving it to her son Ngozi who took the ice treat with much glee before running off to his friends. "Makes sure that the melted ice cream doesn't go to his hands" she explained the reason for the cupcake holder.

The red head nodded as she watched her own son who was happily eating the watermelon she gave him and was now spitting the seeds at his other teammates.

"So how's Anne? Is she out of the hospital yet?" Tiana tried to make conversation to the woman who for some reason was more silent that usual.

Merida was seated on the bench next to Tiana with her arms crossed and shades covering her eyes "She is. her father's watching her this time. She could get back to school next week."

"Well that's good" Tiana continued to stare at their children "You've been awfully quiet . . ."

"Do I look like those wives you see in those American reality shows?" the red head asked right out of the blue.

At this the African-American woman was taken aback "You mean like the real Housewives of Jersey or something?"

"Yup" Merida said.

Tiana eyed her friend's get up. She was wearing a white sailor's blouse, a pair or white Capri pants and a pair of black Louis Vuitton heels. Her usually messy red hair was fixed into a proper bun and she wore a pair of Channel shades. Her bag was from Givenchy.

"Add in a Piña Colada and you've got yourself a reality show deal" Tiana was dressed in a black sundress with gladiator sandals "Now why the sudden question?"

"Have you ever felt like that you were" Merida bit her lips trying to find the word "Stuck in something, and you don't know if you want out?"

Tiana looked over at her friend then back at the children "Are you starting to regret your life decisions?"

"I'm not" Merida answered almost a little too quickly "It's just, I'm starting to wonder what my younger self would have said if she saw me right now"

"Honey you are regretting your life decisions"

"I am not" Merida said a little more sternly "I just want your opinion"

Sighing Tiana decided to answer "Well, she'd comment for the lack of plaid in your current wardrobe"

"I still have polos in the closet" Merida rebutted.

"When was the last time you even wore them?"

"When I was in the hospital"

"But never in public like now" Tiana retorted.

"The snotty upperclass PTA moms wouldn't take me seriously" she growled "Do you think I even know where I bought half the stuff in my closet?"

Tian shrugged "Well, your younger self would also wonder how did you manage to escape the clutches of your mom"

"Never really got out of it" Merida sighed "She's going to visit next week in fact to check on her grandkids"

"Does Arthur know?"

"He planned a trip to Arizona just to avoid her"

Tiana raised a brow "Does he always do that whenever your mother's around?"

The Scot shrugged "He can't escape Christmas though, so he empties a bottle of Bacardi before maw can get her hands on him"

"Wow, it's already been ten years" Tiana shook her head "And she's still mad about it?"

"Oh she loves her grandkids" Merida waved a hand "She's just pissed that we're both still legally single"

"Cause you're 'living in sin'" Tiana air-quoted.

Merida groaned "There are a lot of people out there who aren't married yet live under one roof with their kids"

"You know when I babysitted Anne onetime" Tiana raised her finger "She asked why people got married."

Due to her shades Tiana did not see Merida wince "What did you say"

"I told her it was because two people loved each other and wanted to be together until they both died."

Merida snorted "You're as idealistic as Anna"

"You wanna know what your daughter said after that?" Tiana cocked her head.

Merida faced her friend "Well what?"

"She wondered that because you're not married with her dad that means there's a possibility you would separate and take one twin each"

At this Merida stood up "WHAT ON . . ." she ignored some of the mothers who were looking at her "Why would she think that?"

Tiana had a sad look on her face "Girl you don't wanna"

"Just chibbin say it" her Scottish accent had never gotten so strong.

Tiana sighed "She thinks you and Arthur don't love each other"

* * *

When Merida returned to their apartment in Bolton Gardens she found the place surprisingly empty.

Uther kicked off his shoes and ran to the living room "Anne! We're back!"

"How many times have I told ya ta stop throwin ya shoes!" the red head woman said picking up her son's shoes again and placing them in the rack.

Again the young boy came running back to her "Maw, there's no one here"

Merida walked down the hall to the living room and saw that indeed no one was there. She then went over to the kitchen where she saw a note written on the fridge, she went over a picked up the piece of red sticky paper "Turns out they went to play tennis . . ."

At this Uther's eyes widened "I thought Anne wasn't supposed to get out of bed!"

Letting out a deep sigh Merida placed her hands on her hips "She could get out of bed, but she can't do rigorous exercise"

"Then we better get them!" before Merida could say anything the little boy dashed outside heading for the tennis courts about a few block away.

"He probably forgot to put on shoes again" Merida muttered.

* * *

"Here you go paw" a young girl with blonde pigtails with big blue eyes wearing a pair of pink Hello Kitty pajamas said to her father showing a water bottle.

Arthur went over to the girl sitting on the bench, he knew very well Merida was going to have his head for bringing Anne to the tennis court but the girl apparently wanted to watch him play, also he didn't think leaving her alone in the apartment was a good idea.

"Thanks luv" he got the water bottle and drank half its contents in one gulp, he was covered in sweat for having gone three rounds. "What time is it?"

Anne brought out her pink smart watch "Around five thirty"

Wiping his sweat with a white towel "Your maw and Uther must be back then from football practice"

"PAAAAWWWWW!"

"Oh look here they are" Arthur didn't even seem remotely surprised to see that the young boy had come down forgetting to wear his shoes again.

Anne turned to her twin brother who was panting from running, meaning he ran the entire 1.3 miles. "How was practice?" the girl asked.

Panting for a few moments he turned to his sister "Why are you out of bed! You're still recovering!"

At this Anne pouted "I don't like staying in bed all day, and I just wanted to watch paw beat Mr. Pan from next door."

A frown formed on the little boy's face and Arthur couldn't help but compare him to one of Merida's triplet brothers "Did you beat him?" the boy said glaring at him.

"Yup champ" Arthur rubbed his son's head "And if you don't believe me your sister actually taped the match"

Immediately Anne brought out her phone "See! This is where paw almost pulled a muscle"

"Wait! Why are you showing him that!?" Arthur protested.

"Because he needs to see that his dad also has stupid moments" Merida stood between her son and the Brit "Where did you pull a muscle"

"She said almost, so I did _not_ pull a muscle" Arthur slung the white towel on his neck. Then he noticed the weary smile on her face "You look tired"

"I just _look_ tired" she turned to her children "Uther go bring your sister in the car, I don't think she could run the marathon like you did"

"You really ran all the way here?" Anne gasped.

With his chin held up high "Nu-uh, wasn't even that far"

"You almost passed out in the turnabout five blocks from here" Merida deadpanned.

* * *

Driving back, the trip was relatively quiet with the two children exchanging stories of what the other missed out on. When the car stopped and the doors clicked unlock, the two children jumped out the car and raced to the entrance. Their parents exited the car with less energy.

Arthur looked at the woman in front of him, noticing that she was too silent. He stopped walking and asked "Is there something you want to talk about?"

She made a half shrug as she turned around to face him, then asked "How long have we been living together?"

This made Arthur raise a brow "Umm . . . should I count the time I got a hotel room near Disney?"

"Give or take probably" she said still not looking at him.

"I guess" he scratched his head "Then, give or take nine years"

Something was forming on her lips that Arthur couldn't quite point out what "That's quite a long time" she finally said.

The Brit suddenly felt something uncomfortable on his chest as if something was burning up, he didn't know what but he felt like something bad was going to go down with this conversation.

"Has Anne ever pestered you about us not being married?" Merida looked up at him with a worried knot on her brows.

He clicked his tongue in thought "Maybe a few times, especially when I'm watching a Disney movie with her or when we pass by a bridal shop when we buy cakes."

"Mm, same here" Merida licked her lips, even she felt uncomfortable with this conversation. "Every Valentines she expects that you would propose to me or something"

"I get the same expectations from your mother every Christmas" Arthur replied.

"Tell me" she finally faced the man, whom she had being cohabiting with for almost a decade "Why haven't we gotten married"

Arthur was about to open his mouth but then closed it.

"I think I remember us making a plan for it" Merida played with a loose strand on her hair and looked the other way "But we never really got to it"

"A lot of stuff happened when you got pregnant with the twins" Arthur offered as he wrung the white towel on his neck "You had a thesis to finish then, I got fired from Strata . . ."

"I thought you said you quit after flipping the bird at that octopus boss of yours" Merida butted in.

"When I said I quit she said I was fired, if you check the record it says I was terminated" Arthur shook his head "Anyway so there, I had to look for a job and you had to graduate, then the twins were born and we had to look for a place to live, then you had to start your career while I continued with mine and before we knew it we just somehow didn't think about marriage"

Merida chuckled.

He smiled, a confused look on his face "Now what's so funny?"

She looked at him "I always assumed the only reason we didn't get married was because we thought that marriage was beneath us"

The man snorted "Or because we got tired of everyone bugging us whenever we went to a wedding"

Merida stepped closer to him, reaching up to move a couple of wet bangs from his forehead "Apparently Anne thinks we don't love each other enough to get married"

"What?" Arthur's eyes were wide in shock, "She _what?_ "

"I know" Merida sighed, stepping back and pocketing her hands "She asked Tiana what the point of a marriage was and she replied it was for two people who love each other who want to stay together"

Arthur heaved and pressed the bridge of his nose "So she thinks we're gonna break up or something?"

"From the looks of it, I guess so" She looked up at the elevator shafts going up and down.

"We've been together for a long time" he said also looking up, hands on the pockets of his shorts.

She was again looking at him and she couldn't help but admit that despite being over thirty he still looked as young and fit as he was when he was in his twenties (not that she thought people who were thirty were too old). His hair was now longer enough to actually put in a hair tie, though she knew very well he rarely did unless they were in a formal event. There were signs of a beard growing on his chin which she couldn't help but stare at.

Arthur noticed her gaze and automatically he rubbed his chin "You think we should make sure they don't explode the kitchen with a microwave?"

She broke their eye contact "Then let's go" as she headed for the elevator Arthur went to get his bag and they waited for the elevator. "How long was your leave?" she asked.

Looking at the elevator numbers, he spoke "I took the week off"

"You know I could take care of Anne myself" Merida tapped her foot "Don't you have some big project for Mercedes-Benz or something?"

"The presentation is next week, I've got time" he said lazily.

"That's what ya always say, then three days before the presentation something goes wrong, usually something with Fred and you end up shouldering everything by yourself" she looked him over "You then stay in your office for three days and when you get home you hardly move from whatever surface you fall on to"

Looking at her from the corner of his eye "You alright with missing work?"

"I'm sure Lady Tremaine can find a pet groomer to pick off the fleas her damn cat has" the elevator dinged and the both entered, Merida then pressed their floor number.

"I always wonder how such a high-class pet ends up with fleas" Arthur commented "If I remember when I designed her bathroom she asked if I could make the walls anti-bacterial"

"Got tired of living too posh and decided to explore the neighborhood probably" pocketing her hands "Do you think we should get married?"

Arthur turned to her with a very raised brow "Umm . . . weren't you just saying awhile back how you thought the idea of marriages being beneath you"

"I assumed" she looked back at him.

He blinked "I cannot imagine you in a white wedding gown, in fact" he raised his finger "That idea seems very wrong"

She twisted her mouth into what seemed like a smile "You got that right, then again whites are traditionally for virgins"

"Even a cream wedding gown looks wrong" he raised his hands in resignation "I'm not saying it doesn't look good on you, I'm just saying it doesn't suit you"

"Hmm, maybe we shouldn't take a traditional wedding then" she crossed her arms. They settled into a companiable silence.

"Want a Quaker wedding?" Arthur suggested.

She turned to look at him with a raised brow "You want us to be married with cereal or something?"

"No" he waved his hands "They basically just make us stare at each other and if we don't feel the presence of anyone trying to stop our marriage then we're considered married"

She thought for a moment "So if one of us farts then that's a sign of an unhappy marriage" She quipped.

He smiled "Well depends upon you if you consider it a blessing . . ."

* * *

 **I FINALLY FINISHED A STORY WWOOOO!**

 **This has been in the back-burner for so long. I don't even know what to make of the ending. I'm gonna try uploading this week stories which have been in my laptop but have yet to be published.**

 **So . . . please review?**


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